


Every single moment's unrepeatable

by judyannhale



Category: Dead To Me (TV)
Genre: 2019 Tony's, F/F, Family time, They're Theater Nerds, just fluff, pre-existing relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25474468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/judyannhale/pseuds/judyannhale
Summary: Tony night was important in the Harding household - Jen made a tradition of watching every year with the boys just like she had as a kid -  and she couldn’t help being excited for their first one with Judy as part of the family.
Relationships: Judy Hale/Jen Harding
Comments: 14
Kudos: 45





	Every single moment's unrepeatable

**Author's Note:**

> Theater kids this one’s for you.  
> This is just a whole ton of theater headcanons for them and it’s long cause I just watched the whole Tony’s as ‘research’ and had way too much to talk about so… enjoy that lol.  
> I’m sorry if they didn’t like your fave show (unless it’s tootsie) but I tried to make it realistic? ish? since Jen is my fave judgmental gal who only cares about dance.  
> Oh and Jen and Judy are already out and gay together and just being a happy couple for this one.  
> Anyway hope y’all enjoy :)

“We’re watching outside this year?” Chris asked as Jen stood by the back door waiting.

“Mmhmm,” she nodded.

“Since when did we get this classy?” He claimed one of the armchairs, placing his wine glass down on the edge of the fire pit.

Jen raised her eyebrows and glanced toward Judy, who had taken her seat in the middle of the couch beside Henry. 

“We need the couch space,” Jen explained. No one said anything, but they were all thinking of Ted - the way he wouldn’t sit and watch with them since he only listened to ‘real music’.

“And it’s cozy out here,” Judy added, spreading a blanket over her own and Henry’s legs. Jen joined them on the couch, sitting at the other end so she could rest her wine glass on the arm.

“Hey, Mom,” Charlie said from the doorway. “If I have to sit through the whole thing can I at least have some wine?”

Jen scoffed. “Yeah, sure, when you’re twenty one.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re watching an awards show, it’s not one of your life’s great hardships. Can you get over here? It’s starting.”

Charlie sighed and reluctantly took a seat in the space between the two women. He grabbed the popcorn bowl from Henry and took a large handful as the opening number began on their screen.

“That’s a lot of people.” Judy’s eyes were wide watching the set opened up to show the whole Radio City Music Hall audience. Halfway through the opening number and she was already loving it. Sure, most of the theater jokes were going over her head, but there was something so joyful about the whole thing. It was cheesy, she thought, but in the best way. The TV froze just for a second - whatever show James Corden had mentioned in between Walking Dead and Stranger Things they’d never know - but the issue fixed itself and they watched the rest of the number uninterrupted.

Jen was grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl in Charlie’s lap when the To Kill A Mockingbird speech caught her attention. 

“So that’s at the Shubert now,” she thought out loud. It still felt a little strange to imagine another show in what had seemed like her second home. She hadn’t been back since she was a teenager - you didn’t rush to return when your favorite show was replaced with the Buddy Holly story, or any other nonsense after that.

“Is that a theater?” Judy asked. 

Jen nodded. “It’s where Chorus Line was, back in the day,” she explained.

“Oh,” Judy grinned. “So you’ve been a couple of times?”

Jen raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Yeah. A couple.”

Ain’t Too Proud was the first musical performance of the night. Judy watched in just a little bit of awe - she hadn’t known what to expect but she couldn’t say she wasn’t enjoying the musical numbers. Even Jen was impressed by the reveal of the band halfway through.

“Aside from the fact it’s a jukebox,” Chris said with a hint of disdain, “what do we think?”

“Boring,” Charlie sighed. Jen rolled her eyes, realizing he was probably too young to recognize any of the songs anyway.

“The dance wasn’t bad,” she said. “It just wasn’t that interesting.” Her harsh words made Judy giggle.

Next up came Tootsie, which Jen had absolutely no time for.

“Is that a poster for ‘Windy City: The Musical’?” Chris asked, staring at the set.

“Gross.” Jen made a face. “It seems like a bad Kinky Boots,” she decided.

“It’s not _that_ bad,” he replied.

“Saying ‘unstoppable’ over and over doesn’t count as lyrics.” She took a sip of her wine.

Chris just shrugged - he knew he couldn’t argue with that. The song wasn’t impressive enough to bother defending it.

They all quietened and watched as Andre De Shields accepted his award, talking about his three cardinal rules.

“Number one,” he said through the screen. “Surround yourself with people whose eyes light up when they see you coming.”

Judy instantly thought of Jen, who had obviously thought the same thing and was already staring at her. She bit her lip and smiled a little, the two of them staying in that moment for as long as they could. Neither of them heard the other two rules.

They only broke their eye contact as Oklahoma’s performance started. Jen loved a classic revival with some good dancing, but it quickly became clear this wouldn’t be it. She liked it, though.

“They’ve changed this a lot,” She remarked.

“It’s Circle In The Square,” Chris offered as an explanation and it instantly made sense - to Jen at least. They always put a good creative spin on shows.

“I like her,” Henry said, grinning at the TV as the audience applauded.

“Ali Stroker?” Chris asked as if anyone else would know her name. “She’s good.”

“Yeah,” Henry agreed. 

“Wait,” Judy turned to Jen, her attention suddenly caught by the next performance’s introduction. “Beetlejuice like the movie?”

Jen shrugged - she didn’t make a habit of staying on top of the latest movie adaptations.

“Yeah,” Chris answered her. Even he hadn’t heard much about it.

“I love that movie!” Judy’s eyes lit up like an excited little child. Finally, something that meant she wasn’t completely clueless.

"Seriously?” Jen turned to her with a judgmental expression. “Like the ghost movie?”

“Yeah.” Judy’s smile turned a little sheepish. She decided not to mention the fact that her younger self had enjoyed the movie more for Winona Ryder’s presence than for anything to do with ghosts. Instead, she turned back to the TV and immediately recognized the song and the somewhat shinier Broadway versions of familiar characters.

“Yeah, this is it,” she confirmed, mostly to herself since no one else seemed to be particularly invested in this one. She could still feel Jen’s gaze to her left, oozing a blend of confusion and superiority. She turned back to her. “What?”

“Your taste is…” Jen paused, trying to figure out how exactly one was supposed to describe Judy’s eclectic passions. “Varied.”

“Thank you.” Judy smiled, only slightly enjoying the way she seemed to have stumped Jen. 

“Oh my god, can you guys just sit together?” Charlie sighed and stood up between them, bowl of popcorn in hand. “And talk quieter?”

Judy bit her lip to stop herself from giggling as she shuffled up to sit beside Jen, her legs curled up in front of her. 

“Now you care about watching it?” Jen snapped at Charlie, coming off harsher than she meant due to her own embarrassment. She ignored Chris’ raised eyebrows as Charlie muttered a ‘whatever’ and sat back down on the other side of Judy.

“Who’s that playing Barbara?” Judy asked more quietly, resting a hand on Jen’s shoulder and leaning closer to her.

“I don’t know.” Jen shrugged. “Why?”

“She’s cute,” Judy whispered, right in her ear. Jen turned to look at her with the smallest grin. “Don’t you think?”

“Not my type,” Jen whispered back, enjoying the way she made Judy giggle.

“Well, this took a turn.” Chris’ comment drew their attention back to the TV, where Beetlejuice himself had appeared and was making his way through the aisle, up onto stage.

“I like him,” Henry decided. He was clearly enjoying it, laughing at every other line of the song.

Chris wasn’t convinced. “I feel for his vocal coach,” he said with a sip of wine.

“Judy, can I watch the movie with you?” Henry asked. Judy’s eyes lit up for just a moment - happy to be wanted before she remembered to be responsible.

“Maybe in a few years, Boop,” Jen answered for her.

“Mom!” Henry sighed.

“Your mom’s right,” Judy said apologetically. “It’s a little…” She trailed off, not quite knowing how to describe it.

“It’s too scary,” Jen said quickly.

“Oh yeah,” Judy nodded along. “Super scary.”

Charlie gave them both a weird look, but let it slide. “What’s the guy from Star Wars doing there?” he asked instead.

“He was in this play,” Chris replied.

“Oh that’s cool,” Judy said, excited by another bit of familiarity. “I didn’t know he did theater.”

“He doesn’t, it’s just for the money,” Chris explained.

“Oh,” Judy said, dejected.

“They do it all the time - putting celebrities in shows,” he said. “They’re never any good.”

Judy didn’t have time to be disheartened for long, though. She turned back to Jen and whispered “Look at Henry.”

Jen turned to see her youngest son engrossed in the performance, totally oblivious of the world around him. His eyes were lit up and he had the widest grin on his face. She felt her own face soften. He had the same expression as when they’d taken him to see School of Rock the year before, when he’d stared in awe for the whole two and a half hours and she knew he’d fallen in love right there. She wouldn’t have admitted it, but he reminded her of herself - reminded her of how magical this used to seem when she was young. She missed that.

“So what do we think?” Chris broke the silence as the performance ended.

“I love it!” Henry said, clapping along with the audience thousands of miles away.

Judy caught Jen’s eye and they both smiled.

“I hope they win,” Henry added. Chris raised his eyebrows doubtfully but held back from bursting his bubble.

“Amber Gray’s got this in the bag,” he said as the show moved on to announce featured actress.

“You were saying?” Jen raised her eyebrows with a smile as Ali Stroker wheeled onto stage.

“Probably only got it cause she’s disabled,” Charlie said, shoving more popcorn into his mouth.

Jen turned to him, annoyed. “Char, Seriously?”

“What? It’s true,” he protested.

Jen was about to cut back at him, but she noticed tears forming in Judy’s eyes as she stared at the TV and stopped herself. 

“You okay?” Jen whispered to her.

“What? Yeah. I’m fine.” Judy wasn’t all too convincing since Ali dedicating her award to all kids with a disability only made more tears spring from her eyes. Jen reached down to hold her hand tight.

“You know what?” She looked over to Charlie again. “She’s probably had to jump through a million extra hoops just to get to Broadway in a wheelchair. She deserves a fucking prize.”

Judy smiled at her proudly as Jen leaned over to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl in Charlie’s lap.

She turned back to the TV to see them introduce The Prom. Chris shot her a look as they mentioned ‘her girlfriend’. Jen glared at him. That almost set her up to hate the show, but once the performance started she was entranced. Finally, she was watching some proper dancing and she felt like that little kid all over again.

Judy glanced between Jen and Henry, smiling at their mirrored expressions of pure joy. She nudged Jen to get her attention.

“You like it?” She whispered with a smile.

“Yeah,” Jen answered in a tone that told Judy it should be obvious. “Finally some proper fucking dance.”

Judy grinned, holding her hand as they both watched the song end with a lesbian kiss.

“So we like The Prom?” Chris asked with a knowing smile.

“Yes,” Henry agreed instantly.

Judy turned to Jen and said “I like this one.”

“Me too,” Jen agreed softly, her eyes still lit up. Judy couldn’t think of anything that would make her happier than seeing Jen excited like this. She leaned in to give her a small kiss.

“Mmm, I really like this one,” Jen smiled against her lips.

“Mom, Jesus,” Charlie complained as they pulled apart.

Judy turned around to put a hand on his shoulder apologetically. “Sorry, Charlie,” she said. 

“Everyone shut up,” Chris cut in. “This one’s meant to be good.”

They all focused back to the TV as Choir Boy’s performance started. Everyone stayed silent through this one, even Charlie a little entranced. Jen was impressed - she loved the tight rhythms and she could tell they were all good.

“Thoughts?” Chris asked once it ended.

Charlie snapped out of it instantly, careful not to seem like he was enjoying it too much. “It’s a lot of clapping,” he said unenthusiastically.

“I liked it,” Henry said, turning the conversation back to positivity like it was a reflex.

“Me too,” Judy agreed, smiling at him. “I think it’s cool - it’s like an a cappella musical.”

“Well technically it’s a play,” Chris corrected her. Jen had to watch Judy’s face fall just a little.

“Oh, it doesn’t fucking matter,” she snapped. She’d run out of patience for that debate twenty years ago. “That had better dance than half the musicals this year.”

“That I can’t argue with,” Chris said, putting his hands up in a mock-surrender. The hint of a smug smile on Jen’s face made Judy grin.

After watching James Corden singing in a bathroom - something Charlie summed up perfectly as ‘fucking weird’ - they introduced Hadestown.

“This one’s meant to be good, right?” Jen asked. It was the only new show she’d heard about properly before that night.

“Yeah, it’s the favorite for best musical,” Chris confirmed.

“It’s Orpheus and Eurydice?” Henry asked excitedly as the characters called to each other on stage.

“Who are they, Boop?” Jen asked. She knew Henry knew all his Greek myths.

“Well, they were in love, and they had to escape hell, and Orpheus had to walk in front of Eurydice and not look behind him to check if she was there,” he explained. “But he thought Hades was playing a trick on him so he looked around and then she vanished.”

“That’s sad,” Judy said. 

Henry nodded. “Yeah.”

Charlie raised his eyebrows. “Sounds stupid. All he had to do was not look behind him.”

“Well this is very stylish,” Chris cut in before Charlie had the chance to rain on any more parades.

Jen smiled at him gratefully. “They’ve got a good lighting designer.”

“Right?” Judy agreed, watching lamps swinging across the stage in awe.

“Is that really gonna beat Beetlejuice?” Henry asked with a concerned expression after the performance ended.

“We don’t know yet, right?” Judy asked Chris, feeling bad for him.

“Right,” Chris said, unconvinced.

“Didn’t like it then?” Jen asked Henry with a smile.

He shook his head. “It wasn’t as funny.”

“No, it wasn’t,” she agreed.

“You know, even if Beetlejuice doesn’t win, they’re doing really well just to be here,” Judy told Henry. He smiled and nodded. “That’s the thing with these kinds of awards-”

She was cut off by an urgent tapping at her thigh telling her she needed to shut up.

“It’s Kiss Me, Kate,” Jen explained quickly.

Judy grinned. “Is it that good?” she asked.

“Best show of the night.” Jen didn’t take her eyes off the TV. She didn’t actually know much about the production, but she knew a good classic revival when she saw one. She watched in her own little world, barely noticing as she squeezed Judy’s hand every so often in excitement. She could have been seven years old again as every turn and kick made her heart jump and that tap left her with an old feeling of wonder. This show felt like it was was just for her.

“This is Jen in another life,” Chris explained as he caught Judy’s eye.

Judy raised her eyebrows, impressed. “You could do this?”

“Once upon a time,” Jen smiled. “Oh my god, those jumps. That’s hard.” Her hand - the one that wasn’t clinging Judy’s - was covering her wide open mouth as the whole ensemble grouped together and tuck jumped over and over. Judy spent the rest of the performance grinning at Jen, falling more and more in love with the joy painted all over her face.

“Kristen Chenoweth gets it,” Jen said as the camera cut to her giving a standing ovation before moving on to the next award - best revival.

“I hope they win,” Judy said.

“They won’t.” Jen shrugged, leaving Judy confused again.

“Oklahoma was way too edgy,” Chris explained. “They’ve got it in the bag.” Sure enough, they called out Oklahoma and the posters onstage turned black and white.

“Yep.” Jen took a sip of her wine.

“Well, Oklahoma looked good too,” Judy said. She wasn’t sure yet how they were judging ‘good’, aside from Jen obviously preferring the dance-heavy numbers.

“I loved the bit when they were swinging the wheelchair to help her dance,” Henry agreed with her.

Judy smiled at him. “Yeah, me too,” she said, right at the last performance of the night - The Cher Show - started.

“Oh god,” Jen sighed. “Not another one.” Her tolerance for jukebox musicals was always limited - two in one night was really pushing it.

“I’ve heard this one’s meant to be good,” Chris said, receiving a doubtful look in return. “See, they’ve got good choreo,” he pointed out.

Jen said nothing. She was focused back on the TV and would never have admitted that she was enjoying the dance. Maybe halfway through she noticed Judy beside her was singing along under her breath. She smiled to herself at the sweet sound until Charlie put an end to it with an audible sigh.

“Not a fan?” Chris asked Charlie.

“Does it have to be this cheesy?” he groaned.

“I like it,” Henry cut in. Judy smiled over at him, recognizing a little of herself in his endless positivity.

Jen was just about done with her older son’s attitude. “It’s the Tony’s,” she snapped. “Of course it’s fucking cheesy.”

“Whatever.” Charlie scowled at her as he got up and headed back to the kitchen to refill his popcorn bowl.

“Yes there are the Tony Awards, and you are in fact gay,” Ben Platt informed them through the TV, making Chris and Judy laugh. Even Jen smiled, realizing she wouldn’t have last year.

Charlie returned in time for the announcement of best leading actress, and in time to hear Chris say “Yes Audra!” as she walked out to present it. She was officially his favorite actor in the building (since Patti was absent this year).

“Who’s she?” Judy asked him.

“Audra McDonald,” he replied. “She’s won like a hundred Tony’s”.

“She’s won six,” Jen corrected him.

“Wow.” Judy was obviously still impressed.

Chris glanced back at the screen. “So who do we think?”

“Not to be optimistic but I _want_ it to be Kelli,” Jen said, now that she’d completely decided Kiss Me, Kate was her show for the night.

“I want the one that just sang,” Henry added hopefully.

“Cher?” Judy asked.

He nodded. “Uh huh.”

When Stephanie J Block was announced, he yelled “Yes!!” and pumped his fist in the air as if he’d won the award himself. Judy was so caught up laughing at his reaction that she almost didn’t notice Jen’s eyes growing watery as Stephanie talked about being a theater nerd as a kid. Something about that really struck a chord with Jen, but when she felt Judy’s hand squeezing hers she forced herself to blink any tears away.

“I like her,” Judy said softly.

Henry nodded. “Me too.”

“Is this the last one?” Charlie asked as they moved on to announce best musical.

Jen rolled her eyes. “Could you try to sound a little less excited?”

“I’d be excited if I was drinking,” he replied with a sigh.

“Who do we want to win?” Judy cut in, seeing that Jen was already frustrated with that conversation. “I liked The Prom,” she added.

“Hadestown will win,” Chris said.

Jen nodded and finished her glass of wine with one last sip. “Yep.”

She glanced over to see Henry, crossing his fingers and whispering ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ to himself over and over as they announced - sure enough - Hadestown’s win. He looked up at the TV, dejected, as Judy reached an arm over to gently rub his back. 

“Come on, Boop,” Jen said to him consolingly. “Let’s go in. Time for bed.” She turned the TV off right as the credits started to roll down the screen.

“These awards are stupid anyways,” Charlie added, standing up and heading back inside with his brother. He could be an asshole all evening but he still knew when to say the right thing. Jen smiled after them.

“You never told me you could do all that stuff,” Judy said, picking up their wine glasses.

“What?” Jen looked confused. “You knew I was going to be a dancer.”

“I know, I just didn’t realize you used to be able to do all those jumps, and kicks, and the splits and everything,” she said with an adorable hint of wonder in her eyes.

“Oh, I can still do the splits,” Jen replied casually. “Flexibility’s the one thing I can still keep up with.” Judy was obviously impressed.

Jen leaned in closer so she could whisper with a smirk “I can show you later.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just need one person to get what I did there with the TV freezing that's all


End file.
